Kids take the bait at annual Eagle fishing clinic

When it comes to touching bugs, snakes or fish, it’s all a matter of taste.

Clayton Smith of Clearwater is 3. And he had an announcement.

“Look what I caught! I caught a fish!” Clayton exclaimed Saturday at The Eagle’s fishing clinic at Chisholm Creek Park at 29th and Woodlawn.

“We’re gonna put it back so it grows bigger,” his uncle, Todd Buresh of Wichita, told him, first asking whether Clayton wanted to touch the bluegill hybrid.

That seems to be an integral part of the experience when children take part in the annual fishing clinic, especially since the fish that are caught must be removed from the hook – this is usually done by one of the volunteers – and tossed back into the pond after the kids get their picture taken with it. About 190 kids took part this year.

Clayton didn’t really want to feel his slimy fish, so he just barely touched it, pulling his hand back quickly. But he did it a few different times before the fish was finally sent sailing back into the water.

Clayton’s older brother then did a surprising thing.

Colton Smith is 5. He was fishing from a wheelchair on the bank, because he has cerebral palsy, among other conditions. Colton grinned under his blue sun hat, his mother, Madonna, helping him hold his pole, which he simply enjoyed watching as it bobbed around.

But the pole settled long enough in the water for its orange bobber to be pulled under.

“Colton caught a fish!” everyone exclaimed.

And when the pretty, glinting bluegill was pulled out of the pond, Colton, who usually has some sensory issues, confidently reached his hand out and put it on the fish.

And then he said: “Water.” His mother and uncle took this to mean that he wanted to be the one to throw it back in. So, with a little help, he sent the bluegill into the pond to grow more. And he and his family moved on to pet other critters along the path of the park.

The fishing clinic, sponsored by the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism along with The Eagle and with assistance from the Flatland Fly Fishers Club and other volunteers, takes place during the annual Walk With Wildlife at the Great Plains Nature Center.

Baby skunks and opossums, the beaver from the Riverside Park zoo, an owl and bugs weren’t exactly what Jordan West, 2 1/2, had in mind when he went on the walk Saturday.

“Squirrels,” he said.

His dad, Matt, assured him they’d keep an eye out. But Jordan had another thought.

“I touched a beetle!” he announced.

“Was it scary?”

“No!”

“Did it tickle?”

“It tickled!”

Meanwhile, Gilberto Oliva of Hesston was insistent. He is 5.

“Daddy, I wanna go see the snakes.

“Let’s go see the snakes.

“Snakes.”

But when it came time for close encounters with a blue death-fainting beetle, Gilberto could only just touch the bug – and then pull his hand back fast.

Kahliyah Vanarsdale had a different experience. She has been catching fish at the fishing clinic since she was 3. Since she’s 9 now, Saturday marked her sixth year.

And the fish were biting.

“One year I caught the biggest fish, a catfish,” she said. This year she caught a bluegill – and got her finger caught in a gill when she was throwing it back. She was unfazed.

Even though she fishes other times of the year, she always returns to the clinic, which she can do until she’s 12. Then she’s considering taking her turn as a volunteer, which looks almost just as fun.

“How old do you have to be?”

This story was originally published June 11, 2016 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Kids take the bait at annual Eagle fishing clinic."